Hinata Hyuuga Discovers the World
by GWinchester
Summary: As Hinata grows older, more questions burn in her mind about the universe and how everyone around her plays a role in her life. After being saved by the class clown, her small world suddenly becomes larger, and Hinata begins to look for the answers to these questions. This is the story of the Hero's wife, becoming a woman in the world of ninja.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Weak.

That was a word best suited for Hinata Hyuuga. Or at least, everyone around her thought so. And when everyone gets a certain idea about you, you begin to believe it yourself. And then you stop fighting it. And eventually, you truly become that idea.

Hinata believed this idea at just seven years old. Perhaps before then. Her family wasn't talkative, nor were they expressive. But Hinata's father reeked of disappointment in her. He'd leave her alone after a training session, with a flick of his hand a grimace on his face. The doors would close behind him, and she would cry.

At first, she didn't understand why she cried. Perhaps it was because of the way Hiashi would betray the disapproval in his eyes just long enough for her to see, before he barked at her to do the exercise again. Or maybe it was because of the way his command to shut the doors behind him was also a dismissal of her. Or maybe it was a combination of both.

But of course, at seven years old, she wasn't thinking about these things. She just knew in her gut that her father did not believe in her strength. And as this feeling festered within her like a malignant tumor, she slowly lost faith in herself.

"I am weak," she said to herself in the mirror. "I am small." Her voice was shaky; her body was trembling in her sparring outfit; her chubby cheeks were flushed in the effort to keep herself from crying.

"Big sis? It's time to start training!" Hanabi squeaked from the doorway.

Hinata sighed, wiped her eyes, and stood straighter. "Okay." Not too talkative. Not too expressive. She was a Hyuuga, after all.

But she was weak, and she would fail. The least she could do was humor her sister. The least she could do was follow the rules.

Don't speak unless spoken to.

Hinata inhaled as she followed Hanabi to the grounds, attempting to swallow the lump in her throat.

Do not cry.

She readied herself as Hiashi greeted them with his usual stoic expression.

"Begin."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Hinata wailed, her bones aching as the boys slammed their feet into her sides. She was shielding her head, keeled over on the ground, waiting for the beating to be over with.

And then it was.

At the squeaky bark of a little boy, her bullies withdrew to gape at him.

Hinata shakily got to her feet, backing away slowly to make her escape. But she stopped herself after seeing her rescuer make a hand seal.

"Clone jutsu!" he shouted.

She watched curiously as a replica of the blonde, blue-eyed boy appeared next to him, and then wobble toward the other boys and vanish. "Hah!" the big kids scoffed, advancing on him. She cringed as they began to beat him like they did her, and she immediately felt sad.

He was weak, like her.

And he knew he was weak.

So why did he even try?

The more she watched, the more her heart swelled with gratitude. Maybe he hadn't saved her in the way he had intended, but he still saved her. And she wanted to thank him more than anything.

"Lady Hinata!"

"Adult! Let's get out of here!" The boys dispersed in a rush, leaving the boy in a sorry state on the ground. Hinata's lips trembled as she took a step toward him, mustering all the strength she could to say thank you, but Ko, her caretaker had caught up to her and grabbed her by the arm.

"Lady Hinata!"

"That boy-!" she squeaked.

"You must stay away from him." He threw the boy a disgusted look before dragging her away.

She looked back, concerned that he hadn't gotten up yet. "But he saved m-"

"Do not go near him. Do you hear me? He is a bad person!" The expression on his face was so intense, so very un Hyuuga-like, that Hinata could only nod in agreement.

When they returned home, she felt inspired. Her father had commanded she and her sister spar again tonight, and she felt the determination of that boy within herself.

Perhaps this time, she would win. Maybe this time she could be strong enough.

Hanabi's final blow left her gasping for breath on the floor. Her muscles were stiff, her chakra was low, and she did not win.

Hiashi shook his head and left the room wordlessly. Hanabi watched her sister struggle to get up, guilt making creases around her eyes. But her embarrassment by Hinata's weakness caused her to look away and trail after their father.

Hinata was weak.

And she failed.

But she did not cry.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

The only memory Hinata had of her mother was her smile.

She died when she was very young, shortly after Hanabi's birth.

There was only one picture of her in the house. It was a family picture. Little Hinata was in the front, with Hiashi and his stony expression behind her, standing next to his wife holding baby Hanabi, and she was smiling.

Hinata sometimes thought that the only reason her only memory of her mother was of her smile was because of this picture. It somehow tricked her brain, when she really had no memories of her.

And this made her sad.

One morning, before she went off to school, Hinata was having morning tea with her family, her very quiet family. Hanabi was staring at her tea, shaking with the urge to say something. Hiashi was reading a letter from the Hokage, bringing a steaming teacup to his lips every now and again. Ko stood silently by the door, ready to escort Hinata to the academy. And Hinata was staring at the picture hung on the wall by the table.

"F-Father?" she asked, earning a shocked look from her sister.

Hiashi's eyes slowly swiveled from the letter to his daughter across the table. A moment of silence passed between them, long enough to make her regret opening her mouth, but then he spoke. "Yes?"

Hinata tore her gaze away from him and glared at her knees. "Um, c-can you tell us about Mother?"

Hanabi looked to her father, waiting for his answer with bated breath. She wasn't afraid to look at him head on, and she was probably more excited for learning about their mother than Hinata was.

He set down his teacup a hair too forcefully, causing Hinata to flinch and Hanabi's white eyes to widen even more. "She… was kind," he answered.

When Hinata slowly lifted her head, he was glaring at the cup, his hands folded primly on his lap.

She would never ask him about her again.

As she drained the last of her tea and bowed to the servants in gratitude, she glanced at her father once more, studying his face, searching for any kind of memory he had of his wife. But all she found was ice.

She decided she wanted to be kind too.

"I'm gonna be Hokage one day! You'll see!"

Hinata smiled while everyone else laughed at him. He was lying beaten on the ground, with Sasuke knelt over him.

His name was Naruto. And he staked his claim on the Hokage title despite his failed efforts to beat anyone in a spar.

She liked him. He wasn't afraid to dream, like she was.  
Sometimes, when she was out walking with Ko, she would catch him running away from an authority head. Ko would shake his head in disapproval, but she would smile in admiration at his ability to evade chuunin so easily.

"YEAH, SASUKE!" The girls in her class overcrowded her to get a better look at the most popular boy at the academy. Hinata shied away from the group, peering through the gaps between the bodies at Naruto.

"You did well!" she said softly, hoping that he could at least sense her good vibes. If she wasn't allowed to speak to him because of Ko's rule and her own shyness, then she would be there for him in her own way.

"Alright, class, let's head back inside," Iruka-sensei barked. "Sparring is over. We have much more to learn today!"

As everyone filed back in, Hinata waited for Naruto. He looked upset when nobody was watching, angry almost.

The overwhelming urge to cheer him up came over her, and she wondered if she would finally be able to thank him for saving her from those bullies that time. He looked at her as he passed, and he cracked her the biggest smile she'd ever seen.

Her throat closed up, and all she could do was stare.

"Did ya see that? I almost kicked his butt!" he chuckled.

She blushed, attempting to muster her words again. "Y-Y-"

But he'd already gone inside.

"You did great," she whispered.

Class was let out earlier than usual, so Hinata and Ko arrived home while Hiashi was still in a meeting.

She was curious as to what they were talking about. While she was the future heiress of the Hyuuga clan, she was much too young to be sitting in on these meetings. She looked to Ko hopefully, silently asking for his permission to eavesdrop.

He understood and nodded. "You will one day be sitting in your father's place. I don't see why you can't listen in just a little. But if you get caught, I will feign innocence!"

"Okay!" She crossed the garden while Ko looked in the other direction, and pressed her ear up against the door. The first thing she heard was her father's voice:

"We need a leader who is strong in mind and body. Hinata is neither of these things."

Her heart sank at this. They were talking about her future.

"She may be older, but she is not fit. I feel that it is truly Hanabi's destiny to rule the clan one day."

There were murmurs from the elders, and finally:

"Alright, we will consider choosing Hanabi as your successor. But we must ask you, are you sure, Lord Hiashi?"

Hinata waited for what seemed like years for her father to answer. She hoped he would change his mind. Or give it more thought.

"She disappoints me," he said. "She's feeble. I'm afraid I've given up on her. Hanabi has done nothing but grow stronger, while she has made no improvements whatsoever."

It felt like one of his blows to her stomach while they were sparring, except this was in her heart. She clutched it, expecting to feel nothing. But it was still beating, rapidly at that. And it felt like her heart was pumping blood too quickly for the rest of her body to keep up, because she found herself unable to walk properly.

She wobbled back to Ko, who escorted her inside the manor. "Do you feel like a grown up?" he whispered.

"Yeah," she lied. But instead she felt small. They passed by her family portrait, and Hinata looked up to see her mother.

She tried to smile like the woman in the picture. She pictured Naruto's toothy grin from earlier. But her lips quivered in their attempt to turn upward, and she cried instead.

Hanabi tiptoed out of the house and scampered down the walkway, cocooned in her blanket to shield herself from the brisk air.

Her hunch was correct. Her sister was perched at the edge of the porch, looking out over the garden. The moonlight made her blue black hair glow, which made Hanabi temporarily forget that she was her sister, but instead the woman from their family picture.

She sat next to Hinata and nuzzled under her arm. "Big sis?"

"Yes?"

"Father will get mad at us for being out. We could get kidnapped." She sighed. "But I don't care."

Hinata closed her eyes and wrapped her arm around the girl's shoulders. "You will make a great heiress."

Hanabi's eyes widened. "Don't say that! Becoming heiress is your destiny, not mine! I can't believe Father said that to you at dinner! I hate him!"

Hinata shushed her gently, patting her head. "You don't hate h-"

"Yes I do!" Her cheeks became shiny as tears streamed down her face. "I don't want you to hate me." When she looked up, Hinata was smiling at her.

"I love you. No matter what happens."

Hanabi blinked, resting her head back on her shoulder. "You look like Mother."

"R-Really?"

"You have her smile."


End file.
